Pearl Snaps

Stories of a cowgirl living life by her own lights

Tag Archives: Agriculture


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We’ve Always Done It That Way – Not Me!

I ask inconvenient questions and examine the orthodoxies agriculture and the ranching industry takes for granted. For that sometimes I ruffle some feathers. While some may not appreciate the questions I ask or the dialogues that I initiate, I feel it’s important we continue to do this to ensure the future success of our industry as a whole. In the end what we all really need to start doing more is working a little harder on letting go of our sacred cows, maintaining an open mind, and actively listening to each other.

Read more in my latest post on my Beef Producer blog, Fodder for Thought: http://beefproducer.com/blogs-weve-always-done-7004


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The Whole View Is Best For Beef Producers

By Jesse Bussard

Last week I began sitting in on a class at Montana State University focused on holistic thought and management principles.

holistic_management_comparison_diagramOver the past few months I have slowly been reading my way through Allan Savory’s book, Holistic Management: A New Framework for Decision Making, so this opportunity could not have come at a better time. I am looking forward to learning from holistic educators like Cliff Montagne and Roland Kroos.

Recent discussions in the class have included ecosystem processes, the tools we use to manage these, how to make decisions holistically and in turn use these tools and the holistic decision making process to better manage our human and land resources.

Since I joined the class more than month after it started, the discussion has progressed along to management tools. The first lecture I sat in on discussed uses of animal impact and rest. However, what I found to be the most interesting was our discussion this past Wednesday, which revolved around the use of technology and living organisms.

Click here to read this post in its entirety on my Beef Producer blog, Fodder for Thought. I discuss how our application of technology should shift from one-size-fits-all approach to that of more critical thinking and strategizing and how holistic resource management principles can have a hand in this shift. 

Resources to learn more about holistic resource management:


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Producing More May Not Be Agriculture’s Path to Future Success

By Jesse Bussard

In this week’s Feedstuffs e-newsletter a piece by my fellow Beef Producer blogger, Andy Vance, caught my attention. Vance’s article discussed a recent report released by the University of Minnesota and Canada’s McGill University that suggested patterns of crop yields are stagnating in several of the world’s major cereal crops.

The study observed global census data for four key crops including maize, rice, wheat, and soybeans, spanning a period from 1961 to 2008. In this time period, researchers noted while yields continued to increase in many areas, yields in 24-39% of crop-producing areas never improved or stagnated or collapsed.

Studies like this one highlight the growing need for a new approach to solve the challenges of feeding a rapidly growing human population. However, I disagree that a continued emphasis on increasing yields in crop production (as suggested in the aforementioned study) and in livestock production, for that matter, is the answer.

It is obvious something in the equation is missing. More research looking at the same factors will tell us nothing new. A new approach is needed – a new way of thinking about and looking at the same problems.

Click here to read the entire post on my Beef Producer blog, Fodder for Thought of my thoughts on this report and why I believe the mentality that we always need to produce more may not be the right path for the future of agriculture.

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